PEOPLE looking to support local charities can now have their donations doubled. Anyone who gives money to the charities or community groups involved in the Do it for Dorset campaign, which is backed by the Dorset Echo, can get their one-off donations
VILLAGERS looked back over the past as well as forward to the future as they celebrated 100 years of league Football in Milborne St Andrew. A special day of celebrations was held to mark the landmark occasion, which also included the opening of
A West Dorset basketball fan and Olympic Gamesmaker has been awarded one of only 25 official London 2012 basketball game balls as a thank-you for his work. Craig Sorrell from Shipton Gorge also had the idea of organising a basketball match to be
DORCHESTER’S Colliton Club is toasting another awards success. The club opposite County Hall has claimed the title of Wessex Regional Club up the Year for 2012 – the seventh time it has scooped the accolade in just 11 years. Last year the county
TWO young performers from Dorchester will be singing at a free benefit concert in the town. Thomas Hardye School pupils Jenny Featherstone and Abby Fiddik will perform at St Peter’s Church on Saturday, October 6 from 7.30pm. There will be a
A LIFT that does not like sea air is just one of the problems still plaguing the £1.32 million Marine Parade Shelters a year after they were opened. Lyme Regis Town Councillors are demanding a written report from project co-ordinator David Gale
OPTIONS for long-term repairs to the Beaminster Tunnel will be unveiled at a public meeting next month. The A3066 road has been closed at the tunnel at Horn Hill since a landslip which cost the lives of two people in early July. By the time
TWO women will be undertaking a tandem bike ride on September 30 from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Pamela Sell, 27, grew up in Weymouth but now lives in London, and her sister-in-law, Clare Sell, 32, from Dartmoor, will be cycling for 14 days across
Judges, including the Echo’s own Ruth Meech , have been auditioning talented youngsters for the roles of Jack Trott and Princess Apricot for this season’s pantomime- Jack and the Beanstalk. Below is the first episode of Panto Factor, the search
BOTANIST, TV presenter and author James Wong is urging the people of Dorset to join the Homegrown Revolution. He visited Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens to speak on the importance of plants and how you can benefit from them. After the success
Firefighters were called into action but there were no smoke or flames involved. The crews gave drivers the chance to brush up on their knowledge of home fire safety while receiving a gleaming polish for their cars as they joined fire crews across
A FORMER soldier who drunkenly attacked two people at a cashpoint in Weymouth was ‘haunted’ by his experiences serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, a court was told. Joshua King, 26, was given a community order at Dorchester Crown Court for offences
Dorset Police are appealing for witnesses to an accident. The smash, between a silver Mitsubishi L200 4x4 and a grey Volkswagen Passat, took place on Friday, September 21, at 10.30am on Damers Road near the turning for Gloucester Road. The
PEOPLE are being urged to have their say on plans for a crossing on a busy stretch of road. Members of the public are invited to the meeting at Emmanuel Church in Southill at 6.30pm tomorrow. Representatives from Dorset County Council will
YOUNG sailors presented money they raised during an epic day on the water to a Weymouth charity. The Dawn until Dusk sail, which was undertaken by cadets at Weymouth Sailing Club, made £1,000 through sponsorship and a raffle. Two cheques of
A DEMENTIA sufferer died at a Weymouth care home after choking on his Sunday roast, an inquest was told. Retired teacher Barrie Bristow, 73, died at the Queen Charlotte Care Home in Chickerell Road after being found slumped in his room half an
MOTORISTS face traffic disruption when a motorcycle rally travels across Weymouth. The New Forest Branch of the Harley Owners’ Group will hold the event on Saturday. Police are warning motorists of road closures ahead of the parade. Inspector
TALENTED young hopefuls from Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester are waiting to find out whether they have got The Panto Factor. Six performers from Dorset have won through to the next round of a hotly-contested competition to see who will take
THANK you to the people who have called in regarding last week’s mystery photographs. Dawn Gould, who lives in Weymouth’s Newstead Road was first off the blocks with details of the photograph of a group of men in uniform. They are the area
READER Joseph Hunt came in to see us with details of this photo of a group of women off on a bus trip. Joseph was the driver that day – you can see him standing in the back row – and he took his passengers from Pilgrim House in Hope Square, Weymouth
THANKS must go to Steve Pitman, who contacted us with details of the image of a group of men with a Wyke Regis Toc H banner. The cleric could well be the Reverend Tubby Clayton, the founder of Toc H, on a visit to the branch. Steve thinks the
PHOTOGRAPHER Idris Martin sent us these images from the glory days of Weymouth FC. The subject of this set of photographs is Darren Campbell, the award-winning athlete who played for the club during the 1995/96 season. Campbell, who now works
I thank A Banham for his essay on “How the planning process does work” published on September 20. I found it most illuminating. Let us look at the mechanics of how WDDC was able to construct the ‘S.S. Titanic’, at present waiting patiently in Charles
IF YOU’RE handy about the home and would like to make new friends and do something worthwhile, the National Trust in Purbeck wants to hear from you. The charity is looking for handy people to join our friendly team of volunteers tackling everything
Dorset Wildlife Trust has launched a new photographic award to encourage a generation of mobile phone snappers to take a closer look at wildlife. The Pat Dolbear Photographic Award for Young People was launched this month at the Dorset County Show
DORSET was hit by landslides, localised flooding and havoc on the coast after a torrential downpour and high winds. The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for the South West, including Dorset, on Sunday night in anticipation of the worst
A TRAVEL agent from Weymouth will be seeing the tides turn as he takes off on a month-long cruise to celebrate his retirement. Eddie Brassington, 67, from Preston , has worked for Thomas Cook for 43 years and finished his final day on September
A COUPLE are back in the Echo for the second time to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. John and Jackie Ricketts, of West Knighton, still have the original wedding article that was published in the Echo 40 years ago, with their picture and
A DORCHESTER couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family. Mary and Eric Kinder, known to friends as Bernie and Brian, are originally from Croydon, Surrey, and moved to the area 12 years ago after spending their holidays
THE A35 has been cleared after a car and a motorbike were involved in a collision at Tolpuddle. Police and ambulance crews were on the scene and the road was partially blocked between White Hill and Puddletown. The road was cleared at around 9.30am
PORTLAND Coastguard received an emergency call reporting a kitesurfer in trouble at Westbourne yesterday afternoon. Lifeguards located the surfer and gave assistance.
PORTLAND Coastguard received a call reporting an upturned dinghy at St Albans Head yesterday. Officers investigated and found the craft was debris from an incident at Swanage the day before.
A YACHT on its way from Weymouth to Poole was forced to turn back due to severe weather yesterday morning. Portland Coastguard received a call from the yacht Amethyst concerned for the weather conditions, forecast at the time as severe gale
PORTLAND rescue helicopter was called to assist fire crews rescue a family trapped in a vehicle by rising floodwater near Buckland Newton. The helicopter stood down after the fire service rescued the mother and four children yesterday morning
MAGPIES’ manager Phil Simkin remains confident of landing hot prospect Harry Cornick – but not until Christmas at the very least. A host of Premier League clubs are believed to be monitoring the progress of the young Christchurch winger but it
A CAR and a motorbike have been involved in a collision on the A35. Emergency services are on the scene and the road is partially blocked between White Hill and Puddletown. There are moderate delays in the westbound direction. See tomorrow
ST GEORGE’S raised a glass to regaining the Division One crown at the annual Dorchester Evening League presentation night. The Saints were quite literally unstoppable in 2012 as they chalked up a perfect 10 victories in as many top-flight outings
I arrived in Heathrow at 7 am on Sunday after a twelve-hour flight. Half the passengers on our plane cleared the (EU) passport control in ten minutes: the other half waited (in the non-EU queue) for two-and-a-half hours. The overworked passport
I had the privilege this summer to work as Weymouth and Portland Ambassador and met many wonderful people – visitors and locals alike. It was amazing to be part of the opportunity to put Weymouth and Portland on the map and to prove that we were
PORTLAND UNITED 2 MERLEY COBHAM SPORTS 3 GROVE Corner witnessed a major shock as Portland United suffered their first defeat of the season – losing 3-2 at home to previously winless Merley Cobham Sports. The Blues entered Saturday’s clash
CHICKERELL UNITED 3 WAREHAM RANGERS 0 MAURICE Welch was delighted with his side’s polished performance against Wareham Rangers at Cranford Avenue. Chickerell United went into the clash on a winless run of five games but strikes either side
JAKE Richmond has left his players in no doubt about his expectations ahead of tonight’s clash at Hamworthy United Reserves (7.45pm) by warning heads will roll if he does not get a reaction. Weymouth Reserves suffered an embarrassing 5-0 defeat
JAKE Smeeton could tonight make his first outing in five months as Dorchester Town Reserves play host to their Wimborne counterparts (7.45pm). The Magpies’ full-back has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since April but it is hoped the 24-
PARLEY SPORTS 3 BRIDPORT RESERVES 2 ROBIN Townsend felt his men were extremely unfortunate to come away from Parley empty handed. A slow start by the Bees saw them go two down in the opening 15 minutes but for the final hour they completely
